Thoughts on the Omega-Ospreay and Okada-Danielson matches, as well as the difference in match of the years today with in the past that is concerning. We look at the Omega-Ospreay storyline, the business record that was set in Toronto as well as PPV numbers, theater numbers, what we learned, the Okada-Danielson finish and the situation with C.M. Punk.
We have the biggest money live events in AEW history, match-by-match coverage, Danielson, Sting, Tony Khan and others talk after the show and more
A look at Money in the Bank and its unique record that was quietly set
Full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show
Business notes on the show
What’s next for the top people on the show
The most detailed look at the ratings of all the wrestling shows this past week, talking competition, ranking, segment-by-segment, the unique change in the Raw audience this week as well as the low rating for AEW and notes on that
Early Fantastica Mania notes
64th anniversary of pro wrestling in one of its legendary arenas that likely has had more shows than all but a few in history
Notes on AAA’s next major show after TripleMania in Tijuana
Stardom PPV notes
Next Stardom PPV card
Stardom Five-Star Grand Prix tournament
Battle of two people who trained together as youths sells out standing room tickets at Korakuen Hall weeks ahead of time
The new three Musketeers in New Japan and thoughts
Update on this week’s New Japan major shows
A look in detail about the movie “Iron Claw” about the heyday of the Von Erichs and the collapse of their empire along with thoughts on it
One of the best wrestlers of the 90s and 00s goes into a sports Hall of Fame
Outsports talks about the most powerful LGBTQ+ people in the sports world including many from both pro wrestling and MMA
Notes on Ross Forman, who works backstage at Impact, making the list and his background and thoughts
WWC 50th anniversary show draws huge crowd in Puerto Rico and rundown of the show
Impact notes from the next few weeks of TV
AEW video game notes
Jim Ross update
Danielson talks Okada
Variety says AEW TV show deserves an Emmy nomination
Upcoming ticket sales for all WWE & AEW shows
Anthony Bowens felt crowd reaction was a real breakthrough, as does a reader who grew up in Chicago
Ariel Helwani responds to Tony Khan
What percentage of revenue did UFC fighters make last year
Lots of new UFC fights
Fighter rebounding from nearly fatal heart attack
Lots of notes on Vince McMahon and WWE
Notes on what happens with the new company, how much money Vince made WWE by staying and what percentage of the new company he will own
Notes on ideas for changes in NXT and main roster shows
We are currently looking for two people to moderate our message board. Those interested please contact [email protected].
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Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
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Tuesday Update
WWE
Natalya wrote on Twitter about her match against Rhea Ripley on Raw Monday: “Tonight was personal. It was an apology to myself for putting up with what I didn’t deserve. Thank you so much to everyone who still believes in me, even when I didn’t always believe in myself. It truly means the world to me. Sometimes people forget, until I get the chance to remind them. I was made in The Dungeon. I can take anyone to their limit on any night, because that’s what top level competitors do. Now line up the rest and let me loose on them too.”
Ronda Rousey wrote on Instagram: When your time gets cut three times but you still put on a banger #ChickenSalad #TagTeamChampionships
Damian Priest and Drew McIntyre will be guests on this week’s episode of The Bump.
Regarding the WWE vs. MLW lawsuit, PWInsider reported on 6/30 WWE requested for an extension, noting that they “recently retained new counsel”.
Becky Lynch spoke to Cosmopolitan UK on her career and injuring her shoulder last year at SummerSlam against Becky Lynch.
Former WCW star Lodi wrote on Facebook he recently underwent open heart surgery after wrestling a match on June 17. He wrote: “On June 21, I went in for a triple by-pass heart surgery. I came out with FIVE by passes as two of the arteries needed 2 by-passes each. After two days in ICU, I walked out of the hospital on Sunday evening, June 25th. 9 days in the hospital is not my idea of fun. 4 days later I ended up back in the hospital with a blood clot and infection from an IV site. After two days I walked out again. I will address this more in depth soon. I just wanted those that called, texted, etc to know what was going on. Life for LODI will be a little different for a while, and today I am not even sure what that looks like.”
PWInsider recently contacted Reelz about a potential second season of MLW content on the channel. Reelz’s statement reads: “Talks for season two continue. Fans of Major League Wrestling can still watch past episodes of Underground Wrestling on subscription VOD services including Amazon Channels, Fire TV and Roku.”
Backstage comments from NJPW Strong’s Independence Day show in Japan from Tuesday morning.
Triplemania XXXI in Tijuana will air on HBO Max in Mexico on July 15.
WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley will defend her title against Natalya as Raw emanates from Baltimore, Maryland’s CFG Bank Arena tonight.
This will be a rematch from May’s Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia when Ripley defended the then-SmackDown Women’s title against Natalya in just 70 seconds. The two have been working against each other on house shows since then.
Natalya’s last appearance on Raw came on June 5 as she lost a Money in the Bank qualifying match to Zoey Stark. Ripley, meanwhile, accompanied Dominik Mysterio to the ring at Saturday’s pay-per-view in London but wasn’t in action. Her last Raw match was a quick victory over Dana Brooke in early May.
Tonight’s Raw is expected to feature more fallout from Saturday’s Money in the Bank after Damian Priest and IYO SKY won the men’s and women’s briefcases in London, respectively.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
– An “In memory of” graphic aired for Droz to begin the show.
– A video package recapping Money In The Bank aired.
The Seth “Freakin” Rollins segment
Seth welcomed everyone into “Monday Night Rollins.” The crowd continued to sing his theme sound consistently throughout the first few minutes. Rollins brought up Jey Uso pinning Roman Reigns and the crowd cheered. Rollins reminded everyone that he also beat Finn Balor at MITB. Rollins said SummerSlam is five weeks away and he was interrupted by Cody Rhodes’s music. Cody made his entrance in his wrestling gear. The two stood in the ring as the crowd chanted. Cody started to say, “So …” but Brock Lesnar’s music hit and Cody ran up the ramp to brawl with Lesnar. The two brawled into the ring and Cody landed a Cody Cutter on Lesnar. Lesnar retreated to end the segment.
A fun way to start Raw. The callback to Seth and Cody was especially intriguing considering how Cody ostensibly said in the post MITB press conference that he could give a hoot about Seth’s title and the only way he’ll finish his story is if he gets Roman’s Universal title(s). We all suspected Brock and Cody would kick off their march to SummerSlam tonight and it was an interesting choice for WWE to get that out of the way first because there was little else actually announced for this show prior to the start of it.
**********
– Back from commercial break, Seth Rollins was back in the ring with a microphone in hand. The crowd was again singing his theme song. As Rollins was talking, he was interrupted by Judgement Day’s theme music. Rhea Ripley told Seth that everyone was there to see the Judgement Day take over. Ripley was joined by Damien Priest and Dom Mysterio. Seth asked where Finn Balor was and Ripley said Finn was fine and where he was, was none of Seth’s concern. Priest chimed in and said Seth needs to concern himself with Priest’s MITB briefcase.
Priest teased cashing in at SummerSlam, Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble or tonight. Seth said for Priest to cash in, the champ needs to be down and out and as it turned out, Seth didn’t have a match on the card, so Seth said he was ready to go party in Baltimore. Ripley said she’s already defending her title tonight, so she suggested Seth defend his title against Dom, who again got wild heat from the live crowd. The crowd chanted “You suck!” at Dom. Ripley made the challenge to Seth on behalf of Dom. Seth said this seemed like a trap, but he wanted nothing more than to “slap the mustache off” Dom’s face. Ultimately, after the crowd cheered him on, Seth accepted Dom’s challenge for the night’s main event.
**********
Damien Priest defeated Shinsuke Nakamura [11:00]
The only thing this match suffered from was the predictable outcome. Priest wasn’t going to win the MITB briefcase only to lose to Nakamura two days later (by the way, WWE sent out an email a few minutes before Raw went live saying that Priest was going to face Ricochet, but …?). If you can get past that, the match itself was pretty good. Nakamura showed good fire and continues to work hard despite never really coming up on the winning side of things in WWE. Priest looks good as the MITB holder, all LA Knight disappointments be damned. It’ll be interesting to see how long he holds onto it before WWE pulls the trigger on what’s next. It kind of feels like he’s either going to try to cash in soon, or we could be in for an awfully long story as Priest’s run as MITB briefcase holder plays out.
Priest had control early and worked Nakamura’s arm. Nakamura fired up and blasted Priest with some shots to his midsection. Nakamura choked Priest with his boot until Priest cut him off with a leaping elbow for a one-count. Priest kept control with a series of stomps. Priest jumped at Nakamura, but Nakamura caught him and landed a knee to Priest’s midsection. The action spilled outside, where Nakamura was dropped on his back across the top of the guardrail. The show went to a picture-in-picture.
Back from break, Nakamura landed a series of strikes on Priest. Nakamura slammed Priest and rolled to the outside, where he blew a kiss at Ripley. Back inside the ring, Nakamura took Priest down for a two-count. Nakamura came off the second rope and ran into an uppercut from Priest. Nakamura rolled Priest up out of nowhere for a two-count and then went for an arm-bar, but Priest blocked it. Priest hit a spinning front kick for a two-count. Priest lifted Nakamura, but Nakamura wiggled out of it and rolled Priest up for a two-count. Nakamura kicked Priest and got a two-count out of it. Nakamura landed a knee from the second rope and fired up, but Priest caught Nakamura with a short-arm clothesline. Priest then hit South of Heaven for the win.
**********
– The commentary team spoke over highlights of Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler breaking up at MITB. Rousey’s music hit in the arena and Rousey walked to the ring with purpose. The crowd didn’t react particularly enticed. Before Rousey could speak, Baszler’s music hit and Baszler said everyone’s tired of hearing Rousey try to talk on a microphone. Rousey asked for an explanation. Baszler said she doesn’t owe Rousey anything – and if anything, she owes fans for bringing Rousey into the wrestling business.
Baszler talked about how Rousey didn’t help Baszler try out or build rings. Baszler said she paid her dues and Rousey didn’t. Baszler said Rousey waltzed her way into WrestleMania. Baszler said Rousey ruined pro wrestling for her. Baszler said she’s going to finally shut Rousey up. Rousey kicked Baszler and clotheslined Baszler on the outside. Rousey looked to choke Baszler out, but Baszler countered and worked an ankle lock. Rousey got to the ropes and worked her way out of it, only to be the recipient of a running knee.
I liked this. Who knows what crowd noise is real on WWE broadcasts, but on TV, the crowd here seemed excited that Baszler essentially said all the things the Internet Wrestling Community has been saying about Rousey for a little while now. Baszler is a lot better than what WWE has been giving her and it looks like she might have found a way into the upper end of the card if she can keep the fire up.
**********
Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green won a tag team turmoil match to become No. 1 contenders for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship [11:54]
I can’t say I’m a fan of tag team turmoil matches that have absolutely no build and features wrestlers some fans might not even realize had already been called to the main roster, but I digress. Chance and Carter have some fairly visually appealing offense, but when you’re given two minutes out of a 12-minute, five-team match, that visually appealing offense will forever appear marginalized. Deville and Green running the gamut makes sense if you’re trying to heat up a program on short notice, but here’s hoping they don’t just feed Deville and Green as the Challengers Du Jour for the next couple weeks before Morgan and Rodriguez move onto another set of challengers that will feel meaningless to no fault of whomever they turn out to be. The booking is the booking.
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez sat at ringside throughout the match. Indi Hartwell started the match and took out Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green. Candice LeRae tagged in and kept control in her team’s favor until she went for a moonsault, but Green moved. It wasn’t long before Deville knee’d LeRae to get the cover on LeRae and eliminate LeRae and Hartwell.
Nikki Cross and Emma were the next team in the match, but Cross was too infatuated with LeRae and Emma was on her own for a little bit. And by “a little bit,” I mean, “Cross left Emma to fend for herself as Cross appeared to cry because LeRae shunned her.” As such, Deville covered Emma to eliminate that team.
Next in the match was Dana Brooke and Tegan Nox. Green tried to take a timeout on the outside, but Brooke and Nox hit a slide to take Deville and Green out. The show went to a picture-in-picture from there. By the time the show returned, Nox and Brooke were eliminated. From there, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance was the final team to enter the match. Green and Deville double-suplexed Chance for a two-count. Green toyed with Chance until Carter got a blind tag and took control. Chance tagged in and landed a Frankensteiner from the top rope on Green, who sold the hell out of it. Chance and Carter went for the After Party, but Deville broke it up. Green landed the Un-Pretty-Her for the win.
**********
– A Bronson Reed vignette aired. Reed talked about fear and respect. Reed said he’s inescapable.
The Becky Lynch/Trish Stratus segment
Lynch said The Man has come around to Baltimore and the crowd seemed happy about that. Lynch brought up Trish Stratus. Lynch said she wanted to end the feud “right here and right now,” and called Stratus out. Stratus’s music hit and Stratus made her way to the ring with both Zoey Stark and a face/nose guard. Stratus said Lynch broke her face. Stratus said she’s still prettier than everyone in the building. Stratus said she isn’t medically cleared because Lynch broke her face. Lynch countered by saying she’d be happy to fight Stark. Stratus said nobody is better than Stratus because Stratus is the greatest of all time.
Lynch responded by saying Stratus couldn’t beat her on her own. Lynch referenced Stark interfering in their match before. Lynch said everyone knows Stratus won’t be sticking around and Stratus was only there to promote her “crappy talent show.” Lynch wondered aloud what will happen with Stark when Stratus leaves. Stratus said she’s there because she’s the face of the women’s division. Stratus said she built the women’s division. Stratus said Lynch hated when people would come up to Stratus backstage and thank Stratus. Stark walked to the ring after Stratus said Stark will break Lynch’s face. Stratus stopped Stark and called Baltimore “Balti-less,” before saying next week, Stark will battle Lynch.
**********
– Jackie Redmond welcomed Cody Rhodes in for an interview near the ramp to the ring in front of the crowd. Cody made his second entrance of the night, this time with a suit on and can you believe it – the crowd did the “Whoa!” again. Cody noted how it was Jackie’s first night on Raw. Cody said he’s not done with Brock yet. Cody said Brock broke Cody’s arm and there’s no way the two can continue to coexist on Raw. Cody said he’d fight Brock any night and every night. Cody’s music hit and that was the end of the segment.
**********
Alpha Academy (Maxxine Dupri, Chade Gable & Otis) defeated The Viking Raiders (Ivar & Erik & Valhalla) [7:57]
Gable looked great here. Especially for what could be argued as a throwaway TV match in the second hour of a Monday Night Raw, Gable might have even looked better than great. The story, though, was Dupri wrestling her first match and ultimately getting the win. Alpha Academy is a lot of fun. There’s no doubt about that. It’s just getting increasingly hard to invest in the idea that they should be a comedy act. Chad Gable is a hell of a wrestler and Otis has proven himself inside the squared circle, too. The Viking Raiders, for that matter, continue to spin their wheels, too. Both factions need a freshening up sooner than later. Until then, some variation of this match will presumably continue to show up on television.
Gable and Erik began the match and had control with a series of forearms. Otis tagged in and cleaned house by slamming Ivar and splashing into Erik. Otis did the worm and hit an elbow drop. Alpha Academy posed as the show went to picture-in-picture.
Out of the break, the Raiders had control and we were working over Otis until Otis landed a double clothesline and got the hot tag to Gable. Gable worked over Ivar, complete with a Blockbuster. Gable hit Erik with an Exploder. Ivar cut Gable off and the two fought on the second rope, where Gable hit a bulldog on Ivar. Gable took Erik to the outside and then landed a diving headbutt on Ivar from the top rope. Ivar came back quickly with a roundhouse kick to slow Gable down. From there, Dupri got the super hot tag and Dupri landed a series of arm-drags on Valhalla. Dupri did the worm and was cut off by Valhalla, but Gable hit a pretty moonsault onto all the men on the outside. Inside the ring, Dupri rolled up Valhalla for the win.
**********
– A video of the Ricochet/Logan Paul spot from MITB aired. After the match, it turns out, the two brawled backstage as well. Redmond welcomed Ricochet into the interview area. Ricochet said Paul can hang and Ricochet respects that. Ricochet challenged Paul to come face to face with him next week on Raw.
Rhea Ripley defeated Natalya to retain the WWE Women’s Championship [13:08]
This was the match of the night to this point. Nobody bought into Natalya winning, but damn it if they didn’t try to change that perception. It’s been a while since Natalya had this much time and showed this much passion in a match. Ripley, for her part, did the job quite well, selling for Natalya and doing all she could to create at least some false hope for those watching. Good stuff from both women. I wonder if this means Raquel or Liv will be next up for Ripley as she continues to find opponents.
Natalya attacked Ripley as Ripley made her entrance. After the bell rang, Natalya went for the Sharpshooter and Ripley rolled to the outside. Natalya followed Ripley and ran into a punch. Ripley repeatedly slammed Natalya’s head onto the commentary table and rolled Natalya back into the ring. Natalya hit a German Suplex and got control back until Ripley landed a strike to the back of Natalya. Natalya tried to fire up but Ripley cut her off with a headbutt.
Ripley slapped Natalya and drove Natalya into the mat repeatedly. Ripley kicked Natalya in the midsection and then to the chest. Natalya tried to fire up again, but Ripley quickly put an end to that. The two battled on the top rope until Natalya landed a headbutt of her own. Natalya followed up with a cross-body block from the top and the two stayed down to regroup. Ripley quickly gained control and dropkicked Natalya’s face before the show cut to another picture-in-picture.
When the show returned, Natalya had control and went for a Sharpshooter, but Ripley countered with a kick to reset things again. Natalya hit a Discus Lariat for a two-count. Ripley kicked Natalya and went to the top to hit a missile dropkick for a two-count. Ripley landed a kick to the head and worked the Prison Lock until Natalya rolled through to get out of it.
Natalya went for a Sharpshooter, but Ripley ran Natalya into the turnbuckle. Ripley went to the top and did the Eddie Guerrero pose before jumping off and Natalya catching her for a counter. Natalya hit a running power-slam and finally sunk in a Sharpshooter. Ripley made it to the ropes for a break. With Ripley on the outside, Natalya went for something, but Ripley countered it with a kick and a headbutt. Ripley then hit the Riptide for the win.
After the match, Ripley attacked Natalya, but Liv and Raquel ran in for the save.
**********
Ciampa cut a promo backstage saying he finally saw a look in the Miz’s eye that he liked last week. Ciampa said the Miz got his ruthless aggression back. Ciampa said the next time he sees the Miz, he wants the Miz to bring the same type of energy. The Mix then spoke from backstage, too. Miz said he doesn’t care what cards Ciampa has. Miz said the last person who called him a coward is gone (Hi, Bryan Danielson!). Miz said next week, he’ll have a no DQ match with Ciampa. Miz closed by saying he’s the Miz, and of course, he’s awesome.
**********
– Rhea Ripley was shown walking backstage and IYO SKY showed up. Ripley told SKY to try her because it’d be the biggest mistake of her life. The rest of Judgement Day showed up and Ripley complained about Raquel and Liv. Ripley said Liv and Raquel will regret getting involved.
Matt Riddle defeated Giovanni Vinci [1:37]
This was more an angle than a match. My guess is we get Riddle/McIntyre vs. Vinci/Kaiser before anything else. But there’s plenty of time until we hit SummerSlam, so let the predictions run wild (brother). Vinci looked inspired, so good for him. Riddle, meanwhile, got a cheap win, and man, doesn’t it feel like it was at least 45 years ago when he was as hot as he was when he was with Randy Orton? The guy might be in no-man’s land at this point.
Vinci jumpstarted the match and slammed Riddle. Vinci landed a cross-body and worked on the ankle that Gunther softened up at MITB. Vinci landed a rolling senton into a moonsault off the second rope for a two-count. Vinci went for an ankle lock, but Riddle rolled through and pinned Vinci.
Imperium attacked Riddle after the match until Drew McIntyre’s music hit and Drew made the save by taking out Kaiser and Vinci. McIntyre stared down Gunther and invited Gunther into the ring before landed a Claymore on Vinci. McIntyre went back to engage in a stare down with Gunther.
**********
– McIntyre was interviewed backstage and McIntyre said he’s back. Wouldn’t you know it – Riddle said the two should pair up to face Imperium next week, so someone here had that. Also next week, Ciampa vs. The Miz in a no DQ match and Becky Lynch vs. Zoey Stark. Ricochet and Logan Paul will also come face to face. The show will be in Buffalo, N.Y.
**********
Seth Rollins defeated Dominik Mysterio via DQ [9:46]
I was all for Priest cashing in. That would have been a fun wrinkle. But apparently, we’re going to get weeks (if not months) of Finn Balor and Damien Priest bitching at each other about who should be champion, when they should have won the championship and why they are unhappy that they are currently not the champion. The match was OK for what we got. Dominik really has grown as a wrestler and that goes unnoticed because of both the star power of Ripley and the pest-heel-ness of Dom. But really. Take a look at that guy two years ago and look at him now. Two different people. The confidence is through the roof. Seth, meanwhile, continues to excel at this weird, off-beat character who loves to listen to people sing his theme music. There were good moments here, but nothing particularly memorable.
The two locked up to begin the match with Seth getting the best of it, working a head-lock. Dominik countered to work a head-lock of his own. Rollins worked out of it and took Dom down with a shoulder-block. Dom was thrown outside and Rollins went to run the ropes, but Ripley got in the way. Rollins kept the upper-hand, though, as he back-dropped Dominik over the top and followed it up with a running knee. The crowd, at this point, was still chanting Rollins’s theme song. The show went to the final picture-in-picture break.
When the show returned, Rollins was in the middle of Three Amigos on Dom. Rollins went to the top and while Ripley distracted, Priest pushed Rollins off the rope. Dom stomped Rollins multiple times and went to the top to hit a frog-splash. Dom went back up for another frog-splash, but Rollins got the knees up to counter. The crowd was still chanting Rollins’ theme and Rollins clotheslined Dom over the top, eventually hitting a tope suicida onto Dom on the outside.
Back inside the ring, Seth set up a stomp, but Priest came into the ring to chokeslam Rollins for the DQ. After the bell rang, Priest beat the hell out of Rollins on the outside of the ring, including a face-first slam onto the commentary desk. The commentary team teased Priest cashing in. Priest set Rollins up for a Razor’s Edge, but Rollins worked out of it. Dom then hit Rollins int he back with the MITB briefcase. Dom tried to convince Priest to cash in. When it looked like Priest was going to cash in, Finn Balor ran down and attacked Rollins, which stopped Priest. Balor and Priest jawed at each other while Dom tried to make peace. Meanwhile, Rollins left ringside and pedigree’d Dom on his way out. Balor and Priest yelled at each other to close the show.
Thoughts on the Omega-Ospreay and Okada-Danielson matches, as well as the difference in match of the years today with in the past that is concerning. We look at the Omega-Ospreay storyline, the business record that was set in Toronto as well as PPV numbers, theater numbers, what we learned, the Okada-Danielson finish and the situation with C.M. Punk.
We have the biggest money live events in AEW history, match-by-match coverage, Danielson, Sting, Tony Khan and others talk after the show and more
A look at Money in the Bank and its unique record that was quietly set
Full coverage of Saturday’s UFC show
Business notes on the show
What’s next for the top people on the show
The most detailed look at the ratings of all the wrestling shows this past week, talking competition, ranking, segment-by-segment, the unique change in the Raw audience this week as well as the low rating for AEW and notes on that
Early Fantastica Mania notes
64th anniversary of pro wrestling in one of its legendary arenas that likely has had more shows than all but a few in history
Notes on AAA’s next major show after TripleMania in Tijuana
Stardom PPV notes
Next Stardom PPV card
Stardom Five-Star Grand Prix tournament
Battle of two people who trained together as youths sells out standing room tickets at Korakuen Hall weeks ahead of time
The new three Musketeers in New Japan and thoughts
Update on this week’s New Japan major shows
A look in detail about the movie “Iron Claw” about the heyday of the Von Erichs and the collapse of their empire along with thoughts on it
One of the best wrestlers of the 90s and 00s goes into a sports Hall of Fame
Outsports talks about the most powerful LGBTQ+ people in the sports world including many from both pro wrestling and MMA
Notes on Ross Forman, who works backstage at Impact, making the list and his background and thoughts
WWC 50th anniversary show draws huge crowd in Puerto Rico and rundown of the show
Impact notes from the next few weeks of TV
AEW video game notes
Jim Ross update
Danielson talks Okada
Variety says AEW TV show deserves an Emmy nomination
Upcoming ticket sales for all WWE & AEW shows
Anthony Bowens felt crowd reaction was a real breakthrough, as does a reader who grew up in Chicago
Ariel Helwani responds to Tony Khan
What percentage of revenue did UFC fighters make last year
Lots of new UFC fights
Fighter rebounding from nearly fatal heart attack
Lots of notes on Vince McMahon and WWE
Notes on what happens with the new company, how much money Vince made WWE by staying and what percentage of the new company he will own
Notes on ideas for changes in NXT and main roster shows
We are currently looking for two people to moderate our message board. Those interested please contact [email protected].
Ordering Info:
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
Sunday Update
Bryan and I did our weekend WOR last night covering Money in the Bank and all the television shows and other news. We also did a show Friday with John Pollock, Paul Fontaine, Garrett Gonzales and myself on modern candidates for the Hall of Fame. We also talked about a lot of other news such as the addition of Collision, keeping up with so much wrestling and so many more things.
We’re looking for your thoughts on WWE Money in the Bank yesterday. You can leave a thumbs up, down or middle plus a best and worst match to [email protected].
We’re also looking for reports on the final night of the WWE UK tour today in Cardiff, Wales, which was an instant sellout (4800) months ago at the International Arena.
Just to clarify on the Shayna Baszler vs. Ronda Rousey finish from Saturday, I don’t know Rousey’s actual contract situation but she is leaving some time relatively soon and wanted to do a program with Baszler before leaving. The idea was to do the tag team thing longer and establish them as a team and not have the turn be so sudden but basically time ran out on them.
John Cena and Drew McIntyre were kept hidden last night at Money in the Bank. Cena was working there. While Cena has in the past talked about WrestleMania in London, there is more to that now than in the past. We discussed it on last night’s WOR, but it is definitely something they would like to see done. Obviously with AEW drawing the largest pro wrestling crowd in years at Wembley, WWE would like to top that and two nights of Mania would do so automatically.
Natalya and the Guinness Book of World Records people have added to her stuff in their annual book. They presented her with awards that will be in the next book for these world records: Most WWE women’s matches (1,514); Most WWE women’s wins (663); Most WWE women’s PLE appearances (75); Most WWE women’s WrestleMania appearances (8); Most women’s matches on Raw (174); and Most women’s’ matches on SmackDown (200)
Every winner of the women’s MITB match in history but one (Carmella) either cashed it in that night or the next day. So, IYO SKY already has the second-longest tenure as a MITB winner in history unless she cashes it in in Cardiff today which is very doubtful to happen. Every female winner in history has gone on to win the title. (Thanks to Arya Witner)
AEW Dynamite in Boston on 7/19 sold about 1000 tickets after the announcement of the Blood & Guts match. It was at about 5300 at the start of the weekend.
In an interview with Boxing Social, promoter Eddie Hearn said he believes Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury could be happening soon. He said he believes it’s happening but also said it would be an exhibition fight but who knows. Hearn was trying to put together Oleksandr Usyk vs. Fury which is why he made those comments.
Money in the Bank did 200,000 Google searches which, with the new standards after the change, is a great number. It used to be a normal number. Nothing else related to boxing, wrestling or MMA made the list including yesterday’s UFC show. It was up with Damian Lillard, the NASCAR race in Chicago, the changes in Twitter and the Los Angeles Lakers for the top spots over the weekend behind the death of actor Alan Arkin.
A&E tonight at 9 PM has WWE Most Wanted Treasures focusing on Trish Stratus and Alundra Blayze, plus Stone Cold Takes on America at 10 PM.
We’ve heard a lot of stuff about different matches this weekend to watch. Mirai won the Wonder of Stardom title from double champion Tam Nakano on today’s Stardom PPV show from Yokohama which is getting a lot of praise and called a classic. Also heavily praised are Rocky Romero vs Volador Jr. and Desperado vs. Mascara Dorada 2.0 matches from Arena Mexico where they had their biggest crowd in a long time. Several people also brought up Yuma Aoyagi’s Triple Crown title win today over Yuji Nagata which took place today at Korakuen Hall. On the GLEAT show, which is free on YouTube, I was told there was a great match if you like UWFi style with Hayato Fujita winning their UWF world title from Takanori Ito. Another match was the Kobe World Memorial Festival show today by Dragon Gate where Diamante lost his mask, as expected, in a five-way loser loses his mask cage match with Dragon Kid, Ultimo Dragon, Strong Machine J and Shun Skywalker. That show drew Dragon Gate’s biggest crowd in years, with both Hiromu Takahashi (over Yamato) and Shingo Takagi (destroying Konomama Ichikawa twice) as outside attractions.
AEW Dynamite in the UK, which airs on Friday nights, is off ITV 4 due to darts coverage. It will air on the main ITV 1 station at 11:40 p.m. Friday night. So, it will be on a much more viewed channel but in a worse time slot. (thanks to Stephen Lyon)
Bret Hart turns 66 today.
On last night’s WOR when talking about Kurt Angle and winning match of the year, he did win it once: in 2002 with the Angle & Chris Benoit vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio match at the No Mercy PPV. People forget about it but it was one of the best matches of that era. (thanks to Arya Witner)
American Pro Wrestling will hold a memorial show for Dan Parris on 7/8 in Bollins Spring, SC, at 4 p.m. The show is at 120 Builders Court. Parris, who passed away last week, was a great proponent for Carolinas independent wrestling for decades and a really nice guy.
Other Stuff
ICW No Holds Barred from last night in Red Bank, TN: Malcolm Monroe III b Sean Campbell, John Wayne Murdoch b Hardway Heeter, Tank b Mickie Knuckles, Jaden Newman b Danny Demanto, Bobby Beverly b Dr. Redacted, Brandon & Kasey Kirk b Krule & Max the Impaler, Hoodfoot b Tommy Vendetta. Vendetta was managed by Darren McCarty, a former Detroit Red Wings star who does a indie wrestling shows and Impact these days (Thanks to Leonard Brand)
Warrior Wrestling on Friday night in Chicago Heights, IL: Sabin Gauge b Cole Radrick, Skye Blue b Heather Reckless, Bang Brothers b Koda Hernandes & Sorta Incredible Iverson, Jordan Kross b Storm Grayson, Konosuke Takeshita b Warhorse, Gringo Loco won three-way over El Hijo del Vikingo & Gabriel Fuerza to keep the Lucha title, KC Navarro b Matt Cardona to keep the Warrior title. The clip going around saw the event, held outside on the Marian High School football field, saw Takeshita run the hurdles and then take out Warhorse. (Thanks to Leonard Brand)
Boom Wrestling from last night in Vancouver, BC before a sellout 250 fans: Evan Rivers won their Money in the Bank over Jacky Lee, Shareef Morrow, Big Cat, Casey Ferreira and Maxwell Benson, Shaolin Funk b Kyle Fines, Amira over Kikyo, Izzy McQueen and Liiza Hall, Brady Malibu b President Abraham Lincoln in a loser leaves town match, Travis Williams b Judas Icarus, Randy Myers b Tony Baroni.
Ronda Rousey’s second stint in WWE could be coming to an end in the near future.
Rousey’s longtime friend and training partner, Shayna Baszler, turned on her at Money in the Bank, setting up a likely feud between the two. Our own Dave Meltzer addressed the timing of the angle on Wrestling Observer Radio and noted that Baszler vs. Rousey is expected to take place sooner rather than later due to Rousey having given WWE a “hard out” date.
“This was always, always, always the plan,” Meltzer said.
“It kept getting delayed and then Ronda got hurt and the thing was – and I don’t know the date, and it might be SummerSlam, it might be a little bit after – the deal is that Ronda has a hard out. She gave a date, ‘This is my last date.’ Cause I remember talking to somebody there and it’s like, ‘I know they’re going to do this, and I guess, make the big match for WrestleMania.’ And it’s like, ‘No, her hard out is…’ – they didn’t give me the date but it’s long before WrestleMania,” he continued.
“They want to do a feud. The whole tag team was to set up Ronda and Shayna doing a feud. Ronda wanted to do this feud with Shayna, she got what she wanted. She’s always wanted to do it because Shayna is the one who got her basically into pro wrestling.”
Meltzer continued:
Based on whenever that out is, they had to get it done now. This was the latest they could go. Yeah, they wanted a long title reign to build it up and to do the whole thing where you can see the stuff coming, the little teases and everything. They didn’t have time. Things just got screwed up. Really it was the broken arm that screwed it up more than anything else but that’s what happened.
Rousey returned to WWE after a nearly three-year absence at the 2022 Royal Rumble. She defeated Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s title at last year’s Backlash, lost it to Liv Morgan via MITB cash-in the following month, and then regained it from Morgan at Extreme Rules. Flair returned and defeated Rousey for the title on the 12/30 SmackDown. Rousey then suffered a fractured radius on a 2/26 house show but would still perform in the four-way women’s tag match at WrestleMania.
Rousey and Baszler then won the WWE Women’s Tag titles on the 5/29 WWE Raw. They would later unify the belts with the NXT Women’s Tag titles after defeating Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn on the 6/23 SmackDown. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez’s victory at Money in the Bank was the 21st time the titles have changed hands.
Rousey’s previous WWE stint lasted from her debut at WrestleMania 34 to her loss in the main event of WrestleMania 35.
New WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions were crowned as Shayna Baszler betrayed Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank.
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez won the titles after Baszler attacked Rousey. Baszler blindsided Rousey with a forearm, beat her down, and put her in the Kirifuda Clutch. Baszler then walked out on Rousey. With Rousey left on her own, Rodriguez hit the Tejana Bomb and Morgan hit Oblivion. Morgan then pinned Rousey to win the titles.
The turn from Baszler came out of nowhere. Rousey had just tagged herself into the match before being attacked by Baszler.
With their victory, Morgan & Rodriguez reclaimed the titles that they were forced to vacate in May. They had to relinquish the Women’s Tag Team titles then due to a shoulder injury that Morgan suffered. Morgan made her return from injury on SmackDown last week.
Rousey & Baszler won a fatal four-way match for the titles after they were vacated by Morgan & Rodriguez. Last month, the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles were unified with the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles when Rousey & Baszler defeated Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn.
Before Money in the Bank, Ronda Rousey and Raquel Rodriguez are set to face off in singles action.
WWE has announced that Rousey vs. Rodriguez will take place on Raw tonight. The match is part of the build to Rousey & Shayna Baszler defending their Undisputed Women’s Tag Team titles against Rodriguez & Liv Morgan at Money in the Bank.
Rousey & Baszler unified the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles with the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles by defeating Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn on last Friday’s episode of SmackDown. There was then a confrontation between Rousey & Baszler and Rodriguez & Morgan following the match.
The appearance marked Morgan’s return to WWE television. She had suffered a shoulder injury last month that forced Rodriguez & Morgan to vacate the Women’s Tag Team titles.
Tonight is the final Raw before Money in the Bank. The pay-per-view is being held in London this Saturday (July 1).
The updated lineup for tonight’s Raw is listed below:
Dominik Mysterio addresses Cody Rhodes
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins gives an update on his condition following Finn Balor attack
Women’s Money in the Bank summit with Becky Lynch, Trish Stratus, Zoey Stark, Zelina Vega, IYO SKY, and Bayley
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez are getting a chance to reclaim the titles that they never lost.
During this week’s episode of The SmackDown LowDown, it was confirmed that Morgan & Rodriguez will challenge for Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler’s Women’s Tag Team titles at Money in the Bank. The pay-per-view is taking place in London on Saturday, July 1.
Rousey & Baszler defeated Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn on SmackDown last night to unify the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles with the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles. Following the match, Morgan made her return from injury as she and Rodriguez confronted Rousey and Baszler.
Morgan & Rodriguez had to vacate the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles last month due to Morgan suffering a shoulder injury. Rousey & Baszler then won the vacant titles in a four-way match against Rodriguez & Shotzi, Bayley & IYO SKY, and Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville.
This is the sixth match that’s been announced for Money in the Bank. The updated card for the event is listed below:
Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Ricochet vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. LA Knight vs. Santos Escobar vs. Butch vs. Damian Priest vs. Logan Paul
Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match: Zelina Vega vs. Becky Lynch vs. Zoey Stark vs. Bayley vs. IYO SKY vs. Trish Stratus
World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins defends against Finn Balor
Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa vs. The Usos
Cody Rhodes vs. Dominik Mysterio
Women’s Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler defend against Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
Tonight’s SmackDown emanates from the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana, as the friction between The Usos and Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa may reach new heights following the events of last week where Jey Uso superkicked Reigns.
The two teams will square off in the Bloodline Civil War at Money in the Bank. WWE is hyping that the war begins tonight.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler will face off against NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn tonight in a match to unify the belts.
After a confrontation last week, Bayley will put her women’s Money in the Bank ladder match spot on the line against Shotzi. The match was made when IYO SKY accepted the challenge for Bayley.
A triple threat match between Santos Escobar, Butch, and LA Knight was originally announced for tonight. Instead, Knight will be going one-on-one with Rey Mysterio.
Plus, Charlotte Flair returns to action against Lacey Evans, Pretty Deadly appear on The Grayson Waller Effect, and more.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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– The show opened with a video recap of what happened with the Bloodline on last week’s episode.
The Usos Segment
The Usos made their entrance and had mics in their hands. The crowd chanted their name and they soaked it in before starting to talk. Jey started to say “The Bloodline …” but Jimmy stopped him and Jey corrected himself to say “The Usos are in your city.” Jimmy asked Jey how he was feeling and the crowed chanted “Ucey!” Jey noted that they’re about to fight their own family and it’s not supposed to be like that. Jey started to ramble a bit and Jimmy stopped him to say he thinks Jey made the “absolute perfect choice” last week. Jey said they still love Roman Reigns and the crowd booed.
Jey spoke to Roman, into the camera, and said he would have done anything Roman told him to do. Jey said where Roman messed up was when he disrespected Jey and Jimmy. Jimmy said respect is huge and they were in the most dominant faction in WWE, but once Roman stopped showing the Usos respect, the Usos left him on the Aisle of Irrelevancy on his own. Jey said they can forgive Roman, but they can’t forgive those outside the circle. Jimmy talked about how Jimmy and Jey were built on respect. Jey said there’s going to be a Civil War at Money In The Bank. Jey said everyone is looking at the best tag team in the world. Jey said at MITB, it’s lockdown and Jimmy and Jey welcomed Solo Sikoa and Roman Reigns to the Uso Penitentiary to end the segment.
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LA Knight defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. [8:35]
Wait. Where was Butch?! Anyway, the match was fine enough, but those two had a few too many sloppy moments for me. A rare half-miss for two wrestlers who I typically like, but here, things felt a half-step off for the bulk of the match. Knight going over was the right move, but nobody came out of this looking good when it’s all said and done. The post-match angle felt a little forced, too, because nobody’s buying Knight as a heel, yet WWE keeps trying to sell it. This was fine, but it could have been much, much better.
The crowd chanted “LA Knight” once the bell rang. Knight had control early. Mysterio eventually cut Knight off with a dropkick, but Knight responded quickly with a knee to the head. Mysterio eventually fought back and landed a series of punches on Knight and hit the first part of the 619. Knight went to the apron and Mysterio hit a baseball slide onto Knight, taking him to the outside as the show went to a commercial.
Back form break, Knight had control with a neck-breaker. Knight lifted Mysterio, but Mysterio rolled Knight into a turnbuckle. Mysterio hit a Senton and cross-body for a two count. Mysterio ran at Knight and Knight caught him for a slam. Knight then landed a jumping elbow for a two count. Mysterio jumped at Knight and eventually it turned into a DDT for a two-count. Mysterio hit an enziguri, but Knight caught Rey and ultimately Blunt Force Trauma for the win.
After the match, Knight tried to take off Mysterio’s mask, but Santos Escobar ran out for the save. The show cut backstage, where Solo Sikoa gave the Samoan Spike to Ridge Holland in the back. Paul Heyman was with Sikoa and after Sikoa took Holland down, Heyman “called Roman Reigns” as the show went to break.
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– Back from break, Sheamus cut the show off and walked out of the back with a microphone calling out Sikoa. He said he’d give Sikoa the fight of his life and stomped to the back. Ronda Rousey’s music hit and she, along with Shayna Baszler, walked to the ring. Raquel Rodriguez was sitting at ringside for their match with Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn.
Shayna Baszler & Ronda Rousey defeated Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre to win the WWE Unified Women’s Tag Team Titles [9:50]
The outcome wasn’t really in doubt, but I do wonder what Liv’s injury was. It seems like this has been happening a bit lately in WWE: a woman with a title gets injured, the injury isn’t really ever explained, and then she reappears fairly quickly to challenge for a title she never lost. OK, maybe it doesn’t happen too, too much, but I have Roxanne Perez on my mind. Anyway, it’s hard to think anyone outside of Baszler and Rousey should have those tag titles for a good long time, if only because maybe they can build them into something they haven’t been. As for the match itself … Fyre and Dawn showed good fire (pun always intended). Here’s hoping they get some meaningful time moving forward. I’d hate it if they were just in a bad position at a bad time, considering how they’ve been the NXT women’s tag champs and the company is just in title unification mode. Time will tell.
Baszler and Fyre began the match and Baszler got the best of her. Dawn tagged in soon into the match and got a quick two count, which led to Baszler tagging in Rousey. Rousey did her takeover series on Dawn, but Dawn cut her off with a boot. Fyre tagged in and took Rousey down. Fyre suplexed Rousey and Dawn hit a meterora for a two-count. Fyre kicked the back of Rousey’s leg and put Rousey on her shoulders, but Rousey came right back with a poison-rana, which sent the match to break.
Back from the commercial, Rousey was working an ankle-lock on Fyre until Fyre got out of it via an enziguri. Baszler tagged in, hit a knee strike and got a two-count on Fyre. Fyre kicked away Baszler and got the hot tag to Dawn. Dawn took town Baszler with a kick. Dawn then landed a back suplex and came off the top with a meteora for a two count. Baszler sank in her finisher, but Fyre came off the top to break it up. Fyre then took out Rousey on the outside and Fyre tagged in. Baszler kicked Dawn and Baszler and Rousey sank in their finishers on Fyre and Dawn to win the match in a double tap-out.
After the match, Rodriguez got on the mic and said “they” want a rematch because they never lost the titles. Baszler asked who “they” were and Liv Morgan came to the ring to solidify her comeback. It appears Rodriguez and Morgan will be first up for Rousey and Baszler.
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The Grayson Waller Effect
Waller introduced Pretty Deadly as his guests. Waller added a disco ball to his set. The team said the Grayson Waller Effect is “so much better” than The KO Show. Waller said it was nice to have people on the show who have style and banter. Waller brought up the fact that next week, Pretty Deadly will take on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed Tag Team Titles. Elton Prince started talking about how he doesn’t believe Owens and Zayn haven’t given them enough respect. The crowd chanted “Shut up!” in response.
Prince talked about how Owens and Zayn have giant egos. Prince said Pretty Deadly will be on the same page for at least the next 10 years while Zayn and Owens’s egos will get in the way. Waller brought up how Pretty Deadly won five of the best teams in WWE last week to get the title shot. Kit Wilson said Pretty Deadly are the iron men of SmackDown. Pretty Deadly noted repeatedly how they beat the LWO last week. Pretty Deadly then brought up the Street Profits and on cue, the Profits made their entrance. Montez Ford yelled that they want the smoke and as a result, Pretty Deadly vs. the Street Profits was made.
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Pretty Deadly defeated The Street Profits [8:58]
Poor Street Profits. They came into the main roster with a bang and since then … well, can someone please name me the last significant win they had? Asking for a friend. Either way, the match here was pretty good, even though a lot of it was lost to commercial break. The Profits showed pretty good fire (even though they mostly always do), despite the prevailing notion that Pretty Deadly would get the win because they’re the ones with an upcoming title match. The Profits, meanwhile, are veering into that era in WWE where either something changes soon or they might want to head elsewhere if they’re interested in being used as a serious top team. Or, for that matter, I mean … WWE could break them up. Right? Whichever it is, they are closer to WWE purgatory than they’ve ever been and that’s not great.
Ford and Wilson began the match and Ford took control with a headlock. Dawkins tagged in and Pretty Deadly quickly got the upper-hand. Prince tagged in and worked over Dawkins with some strikes. Prince came off the second rope and Dawkins caught him with a punch. Ford tagged in and chopped the hell out of Prince. Ford took Prince’s shirt off him and put it on himself before the Profits took out Pretty Deadly, who were on the outside, with a tandem splash.
After the show returned from commercial, Wilson was in control, working over Ford inside the ring. The two came off the top with Ford getting the best of it. Ford got the hot tag to Dawkins and Dawkins came in to clean house. Dawkins landed a double under-hook slam for a two count. Ford tagged in and Dawkins shoulder-blocked Prince into Ford, who pinned Prince for a two count. Ford slammed Prince and tagged in Dawkins. The Profits set up for something, but Wilson broke it up and Prince rolled up Dawkins (with a little help from the ropes) for the win.
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Charlotte defeated Lacey Evans [2:30]
The closest thing to a squash we got all night. It’d be nice to see this segment get more love because my God, Asuka and Charlotte are set to fight next week for the WWE Women’s Championship. But it is what it is, I suppose. Remember that purgatory I was just whining about when it comes to the Street Profits? Lacey Evans has a permanent address there these days. She’s doing her best to work her way out of it, but luck doesn’t seem to be in her favor these days.
The two locked up to begin the match and Evans pulled Charlotte’s hair, but Charlotte responded with a shoulder block before stepping over Evans while Evans laid down. Charlotte hit Evans with some chops. Evans fought back by whipping Charlotte to the ground via her hair. Evans went to the second rope to demand the crowd salute her. Somewhere, Sgt. Slaughter called his lawyer. Charlotte mocked Evans and suplexed Evans. Charlotte hit the big boot and sank in the figure eight for the win.
After the bell rang, Asuka attacked Charlotte and saluted Charlotte repeatedly in some very funny moments. Asuka left Charlotte laying.
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– Bianca Belair was shown talking to Adam Pearce backstage. Belair said she wants to be ringside next week to make sure nobody cuts the line. Pearce said there is too much at stake and as a result, Belair will be barred from ringside. Belair questioned Pearce and walked away.
– Next week, we get Charlotte vs. Asuka for the WWE Women’s Championship. Roman Reigns will return to SmackDown next week. Logan Paul will be the guest on the Grayson Waller Effect. And the tag team title match between Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. Pretty Deadly will go down.
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Solo Sikoa fought Sheamus to a no-contest in 14:53.
Good for Sheamus for stepping up in a match that didn’t feel like it was necessarily planned to happen since WWE started making plans for this SmackDown. Sikoa continues to step up in these high-profile moments, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that final run through the barrier didn’t look like Sikoa utterly missed Sheamus. It wouldn’t be so bad if Sheamus wasn’t written to be taken out as a result of it, but so it goes. With the Usos standing tall to end the episode, you have to wonder if they’ll be the ones taking the loss in at MITB. There’s still next week, I suppose. As for this episode of SmackDown, this was the match of the night for what it was worth, but a lot there felt luke warm. We’ll see how they heat it up next week going into MITB.
Sheamus had control early on until Sikoa fought back with passion. Sheamus tried an early Brogue Kick before Sikoa rolled to the outside. Sheamus followed him and stomped on Sikoa’s hand and rolled Sikoa back into the ring, where Sikoa bounced right back and worked Sheamus’s back. Sheamus ultimately turned things around and came off the top for a clothesline and a one-count. Sikoa fought back with some chops. Sheamus cut off Sikoa with a clothesline and went for 10 Bells while Sikoa was on the apron, but Sikoa blocked it. On the apron, Sheamus lifted Sikoa, but Sikoa fought out and rammed Sheamus into the ring post. Sikoa then hit a Samoan Drop ont he outside as the show went to break.
Back from break, Sikoa had control and pumped himself up until he ran into a clothesline from Sheamus. Sheamus slammed Sikoa to keep control. Sikoa rolled to the apron and Sheamus grabbed him for 10 Bells. Sheamus fired up and went for the Brogue Kick, but Sikoa cut him off, only for Sikoa to run into a knee from Sheamus for a two count. A “This is awesome!” chant broke out. Sheamus tried to lift Sikoa, but he couldn’t for a minute … until he did and and hit White Noise, but it resulted in only a two count.
Sheamus set up for a Celtic Cross, but Sikoa fought out of it and hit a Samoan Spike, which took Sheamus to the outside. Sikoa slammed Sheamus on top of the broadcast table on the outside, but the match kept going. Sikoa put Sheamus through the barricade on the outside and Jessika Carr called the match off as Sheamus looked to be out. Sikoa started spiking everyone around him. The Usos music hit and they ran to the ring. Both brothers hit Sikoa with super-kicks. The Usos stared down Paul Heyman before hitting Sikoa with another double super-kick. The Usos then hit Sikoa with an Usos Splash to end the show.
More WWE main roster stars could be showing up in NXT soon.
In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that WWE has plans for more major main roster stars to work NXT. Meltzer noted that Ronda Rousey is one name that has at least been talked about.
There are plans for more major stars to work NXT like [Seth] Rollins did this week. One name that was at least talked about was Rousey, or perhaps even having Rousey & [Shayna] Baszler defend the women’s tag titles there. But the goal is to use the main roster stars to increase the ratings, and the Rollins experiment was a huge success, so when something works in wrestling the idea is that you usually follow up on it.
Rousey & Shayna Baszler are the current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. They’re facing NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn in a unification match on SmackDown tonight.
Seth Rollins, Mustafa Ali, Baron Corbin, Dana Brooke, Angel Garza, and Humberto Carrillo are among the wrestlers who have appeared in NXT recently.
With Rollins defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker in the main event, week one of NXT Gold Rush averaged 773,000 viewers this past Tuesday. It was NXT’s highest viewership total since April 2021. The 0.23 rating that NXT drew in the 18-49 demo was tied for the show’s best number since October 2020.
Corbin is challenging Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship on Gold Rush week two next Tuesday.
Winning the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles with one of her best friends was an emotional moment for Shayna Baszler.
Baszler & Ronda Rousey won the Women’s Tag Team titles on Raw last Monday, defeating Raquel Rodriguez & Shotzi, Bayley & IYO SKY, and Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green in a fatal four-way match. The titles had been vacated last month due to a shoulder injury that Liv Morgan suffered.
“That moment at the end of the match where I crawl back in the ring, and we’re hugging was a real emotional moment,” Baszler said. “When we think back to trying to pay for enough food to eat throughout the week and still make weight and living on the beach in Venice. It’s weird to think that we talked about it, and it’s here, and it happened.”
Baszler told TMZ Sports that this is an opportunity that she and Rousey had to fight for.
“I don’t think people really understand how much we had to fight for this,” Baszler said. “Maybe that’s something for a book in the future. It’s not like it’s been easy. It’s not like this is just handed to us. We had to fight and claw and demand for this opportunity.”
Baszler and Rousey have been friends since their mixed martial arts careers. They’re part of the Four Horsewomen of MMA with Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke.
Rodriguez & Morgan were the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions prior to Morgan’s injury.
Following her Tag Team title win, Ronda Rousey has issued a call for WWE to improve its women’s division.
The New York Post spoke with Rousey after she and Shayna Baszler won the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles on Monday’s episode of Raw. While assessing potential challengers for the titles, Rousey called the WWE women’s tag team division “dismally shallow.” Rousey said there’s not enough women around to keep her and Baszler busy for a month.
“Well, the lack of competition is really the problem,” Rousey said. “I mean, we want to be the most active champions out there. I want to be able to defend this title every week and even twice a week on both SmackDown and Raw.
“But with how dismally shallow the women’s division is right now, there’s not enough women around here to keep us busy for a month. And so that’s the biggest challenge that we have is to get this company to actually care and invest into this tag division.”
Rousey & Baszler became Women’s Tag Team Champions by defeating Raquel Rodriguez & Shotzi, Bayley & IYO SKY, and Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville in a fatal four-way match. The titles were vacant going into the match due to an injury that was suffered by Liv Morgan.
Morgan & Rodriguez were champions before having to vacate the titles.
Rousey told the New York Post that it feels like the women’s division got “stripped clean” between her two stints in WWE. Rousey made her return at Royal Rumble 2022 after having been gone since 2019.
“It was like the entire women’s division just got stripped clean,” Rousey said. “And now we’re the women that are the women that are left trying to piece together, you know, stories and a division, a tag division with around 10 women or even less on each roster. I mean, we’re trying the best that we can to make chicken sh*t into chicken salad, and we made some amazing chicken salad [on Monday night].”
Rousey suffered a fractured arm prior to WrestleMania 39 but still competed at the pay-per-view despite the injury. Earlier this month, she returned by attacking Rodriguez.
In her interview with the New York Post, Rousey said she and Baszler have been lobbying to wrestle together in WWE for years. Rousey said she isn’t worried that working together on screen will affect their real-life friendship at all.
“No, I think that’s the one thing that really sets us apart from every single person, every single tag team in, in the history of this company is that we’ve, we came here already tested and we came here already closer than anyone’s ever been,” Rousey said.
“We’ve literally fought together, bled together, cried together everything. And so there’s nothing that’s going to tear us apart, especially not a fantasy-land company like this.”
Ronda Rousey returned to Raw last night with her sights set on the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles.
After having been absent since WrestleMania, Rousey & Shayna Baszler attacked Raquel Rodriguez on last night’s show. Rousey told Rodriguez that, if she doesn’t defend the Women’s Tag Team titles against them, she’ll receive the same beating every single week.
Rousey suffered a fractured radius prior to WrestleMania but still competed at the event. She and Baszler won the women’s WrestleMania Showcase match.
Last night’s attack happened after a match where Rodriguez defeated Chelsea Green. Rodriguez & Liv Morgan were originally scheduled to defend their titles against Green & Sonya Deville on the episode, but it was announced that Morgan wasn’t cleared to compete due to an injury.
Rousey warned Rodriguez that she’ll have to defend the Women’s Tag Team titles whether Morgan is healthy or not.
Ronda Rousey made her return on Raw, attacking Raquel Rodriguez.
After Rodriguez defeated Chelsea Green in a singles match, she was attacked by Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler on the stage. Rousey told Rodriguez that she and Baszler would continue to attack Rodriguez, partner or no partner, every week unless they got their championship match. Rousey then held Rodriguez as Baszler struck Rodriguez with a running knee, knocking her out.
Rousey has been out of action with a fractured arm since March. Despite the injury, she competed in the four-way tag team showcase match with Baszler at WrestleMania 39. She scored the win for her team by submitting Shotzi with an armbar, and has not appeared on television since.
Rodriguez was originally set to team with Liv Morgan to defend their titles against Green and Sonya Deville on Monday’s Raw. However, it was announced that Morgan was not cleared to compete due to an injury suffered by Morgan on SmackDown. Rodriguez instead defeated Green in a singles match.
Ronda Rousey has been cast in a new Fox reality competition series.
Rousey is one of 12 celebrities who will star in “Stars on Mars” debuting Monday, June 5 on Fox.
A description of the show states the cast will “live, eat, sleep, strategize and bond with each other in the same space station. During their stay, they will be faced with authentic conditions that simulate life on Mars.”
Rousey and the other celebrities will compete in missions that test their “brains and brawn” on the show. Eliminations will occur when crewmates are voted off the space station.
“Stars on Mars will send these famous rookie space travelers where no one has gone before and reveal who has what it takes to survive life on ‘Mars,’ reads a Fox press release.
William Shatner will serve as the show’s host or “Mission Control.”
Rousey’s cast members will be Lance Armstrong, Marshawn Lynch, Adam Rippon, Tom Schwartz, Tinashe, Tallulah Willis, Natasha Leggero, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Porsha Williams Guobadia, Ariel Winter, and Tallulah Willis. The show is being produced by Eureka Productions.
